Last week, Olivia Wilde posted a sweet photo of her kissing her 3-year-old son Otis on the lips as he had a bubble bath.
“Finding hope in this ❤,” the actress captioned the adorable photo.
Quickly, the mum-shamers of the internet fired into gear, labelling the 33-year-old actress’s behaviour “inappropriate” and saying she shouldn’t be kissing her child on the lips.
“Yeah but it’s gross. That’s how kids get lip herpes. From adult lip kisses,” someone commented.
“Kissing your kid like your husband. It’s not good for him,” another wrote.
Others jumped to Olivia’s defence, writing: “Beautiful. How sick is this world, when people think a mother kissing her son is wrong? I kiss my son like this as many times a day as I can! He always kisses me back because he loves his mummy.”
“While we’re on the topic, it’s worth noting that hugging is a practice best avoided as well,” one person joked. “It’s seriously inappropriate because there are boobs, and the wrote might touch your kid, and then everything descends into incestual chaos. If you’d like your kids to be well adjusted and emotionally healthy, it’s best to say goodnight with a hearty, solid handshake.”
“The love between a parent and child is the most wonderful thing there is. 💜 Can’t believe people are sexualizing a kiss between Olivia and her child,” another commented.
Earlier this year, a photo David Beckham posted of kissing his daughter Harper on the lips sparked a similar debate. The football star hit back at critics saying on Facebook Live, “I’m very affectionate with the kids. It’s how I was brought up and Victoria, and it’s how we are with our children.”
“We want to show our kids love and we protect them, look after them, and support them, and we’re very affectionate with them.”